Hair-treating device and method for manufacturing the same



July 15, 1969 M. Koss 3,455,309

HAIR-TREATING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME Filed Sept. 15. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS- M. KOSS Ju'l' 15, 1969 HAIR-TREATING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME Filed Sept. 15, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

MILTON KOSS ATTORNEYS V United States Patent U.S. Cl. 13233 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hair-treating device and method for manufacturing the same. The hair-treating device has a hollow body which acts to transfer heat and which houses in its interior an exothermic filling. The hollow body is sealed at its wall by a sealing means which includes at least a pair of sealing portions bonded to each other with one of the sealing portions being situated closer to the-hollow interior of the body than the other of the sealing portions between the interior of the body and this other sealing portion, so that if the one sealing portion fails the other will still provide a seal.

The present invention relates to a device used in connection with the treatment of hair as well as to a method of manufacturing the device.

In particular, the invention relates to a device used in connection with the setting of hair so that it will assume a curled configuration, for example, this setting being derived as a result of the application of heat to the hair from the device of the invention.

The device of the invention is in the form of a hollow body of good thermal conductivity capable of withstanding the temperature of boiling Water, this body having in its interior an exothermic filling which is solid at room temperature and which has a melting temperature below that of boiling water, so that by placing the body with the exothermic filling therein in boiling water for a given period of time, the exothermic filling will become heated and will assume a liquid condition. Thereafter the body is removed from the boiling water and the hair which is to be treated is placed around the body so as to be set by heat traveling through the wall of the body from the exothermic filling therein.

One of the problems encountered with a hair-treating device of the above construction is that of reliably sealing the hollow body to prevent leakage of the exothermic filling.

It is accordingly a primary objective of the invention to provide a hair-treating device with a construction which will reliably seal the hollow interior of the body of the device so that the exothermic filling therein cannot leak therefrom.

An additional object of the present invention is to pro vide for a device of the above type a sealing structure which is simple and inexpensive, which occupies a very small space, and which will reliably seal the hollow interior of the body so that the exothermic material cannot leak.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a device of the above type in such a way that the cost of the device is maintained low while at the same time a reliable seal is manufactured.

It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a device of the above type in a rapid manner capable of providing a high rate of output of the device while at the same time applying to the device a sealing structure which will reliably prevent leakage of the exothermic filling.

In accordance with the invention the hair-treating device includes a hollow body having a wall of good thermal conductivity and having in its hollow interior an exothermic filling which is solid at room temperature but which has a melting temperature below that of boiling Water, the material of the hollow body being capable of withstanding the temperature of boiling water. The device of the invention includes a sealing means composed of at least a pair of sealing portions arranged along a line which passes through the wall of the hollow body to the interior thereof with one of the sealing portions situated nearer to the hollow interior of the body than the other sealing portion and with these sealing portions bonded to each other to form the sealing means. Thus, the one sealing portion is located between the hollow interior of the body and the other sealing portion so that if this one sealing portion fails the seal will still be retained by the other sealing portion.

According to the method of the invention the exothermic filling is introduced into the hollow body through an opening in the wall thereof, and this hollow body 'is preferably made of a thermoplastic material. After the filling is introduced into the hollow interior of the body through the opening in the wall thereof, part of the material of the wall is displaced across the opening thereof to form the first sealing portion, and then in accordance with the invention a second part of the material of the wall of the body is displaced across the opening thereof and bonded to the first sealing portion so as to form the second sealing portion.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of this application and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of a hair-treating device according to the invention;

FIG. 2. is a schematic sectional elevation of an initial stage in the manufacture of the device of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic fragmentary sectional elevation of a stage in the manufacture subsequent to that of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional elevation of a stage in the manufacture of the device of the invention subsequent to that of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5-7 are respectively fragmentary sectional schematic elevations of successive steps in the manufacture of the first sealing portion of the sealing means of the invention;

FIGS. 810 are fragmentary schematic sectional elevations of successive steps in the manufacture of the second sealing portion; and

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional elevation of a final step in the manufacture of the device of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the device of the present invention illustrated therein includes an elongated hollow body 20 of substantially cylindrical configuration having a pair of opposed end walls 22 and 24 which are convexly curved at their exterior surfaces and which have outer lips 26 and 28, respectively, extending beyond the exterior surface 30 of the cylindrical part of the body 20. This surface 30 is provided with the longitudinally extending ribs 32 which are integral with the body 20 which is in fact formed from a unitary wall structure with the end walls 22 and 24 being integral with the cylindrical wall of the body 20. A springy clip 34 is adapted to be placed around and grip the body 20 with the hair which is to be treated pressed between the body 20 and clip 34. This clip 34 is of an elongated channelshaped configuration capable of snapping onto and off from the body 20, and the clip 34, made of a suitable springy plastic, is composed of a network of elongated plastic portions 36 extending between the outer peripheral edge portion 38 of the clip 34.

The structure of the body 20 is shown in detail in FIG. 11. Thus, referring to FIG. 11 it will be seen that the hollow interior 40 of the body 20* is almost completely filled with an exothermic material 42. The wall 44 of the hollow body 20 is stiif and is capable of withstanding the temperature of boiling water. The body 20 is made of a thermoplastic material such as stilt-walled polypropylene or a like plastic which can reliably withstand a temperature of 100 C. for fifteen minutes or longer. The exothermic material 42 has a melting temperature below that of boiling water but is solid at room temperature. The exothermic filling 42 may, for example, be monohydrated caustic soda having a melting point of 64 C. and a latent heat of 80 calories per kilogram. Of course, other known exothermic fillings may be used, and the particular filling does not form part of the present invention.

In accordance with the present invention, the hollow interior 40 of the body 20 is sealed by a sealing means which includes a plurality of sealing portions which are arranged along a line passing through the wall of the hollow body 20. As may be seen from FIG. 11, the end wall 24 has a tube 48, and there are illustrated in FIG. 11 a pair of sealing portions 50 and 52. The sealing portions 50 and 52, it will be noted, are arranged along a line which in fact coincides with the axis of the cylindrical body 20. The sealing portion 50* is nearer to the hollow interior 40 than the sealing portion 52, and this sealing portion 50 is formed by a part of the material of the body 20, this part of the material extending across and closing the tube 48. The second sealing portion 52 is also formed from the material of the wall 24, in particular from the material of the tube 48 thereof, and this second sealing portion 52 is in the nature of a plug which is bonded directly to the sealing portion 50', along a bonding area extending transversely across the tube 48. It is to be noted that although in the particular example of FIG. 11 only a pair of sealing portions -0 and 52 are provided, a third sealing portion could, if desired, be provided outwardly of and in engagement with the sealing portion 52.

Referring now to FIG. 2, during the initial stages of the manufacture of the device shown in FIG. 1, a parison or hot tube of plastic 54 is situated in a well-known manner within a mold 56, this parison initially having the elongated configuration shown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 3, as is schematically illustrated therein, a blow pin 58 extends through an upper tubular portion 60 of the parison 54, and this blow pin has a shoulder 62 providing an air-tight seal with the top end of the parison at the exterior of the mold 56. Compressed air is blown into the parison through the blow pin 58 so that the parison expands against the inner surface of the mold 56 to conform to the configuration of the cavity thereof, and in this way the body 20 receives its exterior configuration.

The plastic structure 64 which is achieved in this way is removed from the mold 56 after the parts of the latter are separated from each other, and this molded structure 64 is trimmed at its bottom and top ends so as to provide the molded body 66 shown in FIG. 4. After the trimming of the body 64 is completed, the body 66 has the integral tube 68 providing the wall of the body with the opening 70, and this opening 70 has been suitably reamed so that it will have an accurate size. The body 66 is held in a suitable support 72 which may be heated, and the exothermic filling, which is at a sufficiently high temperature to be in liquid form, is introduced into the hollow interior of the body 66 through a suitable filling tube 74, as schematically indicated in FIG. 4. The portion of the tube 74 which extends through the opening 70 is of a smaller diameter than the opening 70, as is apparent from FIG. 4. The filling 42 is introduced into the body 66 up to the level indicated, for example, in FIG. 5.

FIGS. 5-7 illustrate successive stages in the manufacture of the first sealing portion 50 shown in FIG. 11.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown therein a first pre-heating pin 76 the diameter of which is smaller than the diameter of the inner surface of the tube 68 at its opening 70. The pre-heating pin 76 is introduced into the opening 70 extending through the tube 68 with the pre-heating pin 76 spaced from the inner surface thereof. At this time the pre-heating pin 76 is at an elevated temperature so that the inner surface of the tube 68 is initially heated by heat which radiates from the heated pin 76.

It is to be noted that the tube 68 has a downwardly projecting portion 78 resulting from the action of the blow pin 58 on the plastic material of the parison 54 when the blow pin 58 is initially introduced to have the position shown in FIG. 3. This downwardly prrojecting portion 78 remains a part of the final structure, as is apparent from FIG. 11.

When the inner surface of the tube 68 has been heated by heat which radiates from the pre-heating pin 76 to a degree which is sufficient to render the inner surface region of the tube 68 somewhat plastic, the pre-heating pin 76 is removed. A heating pin 80 at an elevated temperature is then introduced into the tube 68, and the diameter of the heating pin 80 equals the diameter of the inner surface of the tube 68, so that the preheated material of the tube 68 at the region of its inner surface is directly engaged by the heated pin 80 to be further heated thereby, through conduction of heat from I the heated pin 80 to the tube '68. In this way the material of the tube 68 at the region of its inner surface is rendered plastic.

The heating pin 80 is then removed and a sealing pin 82, which is not heated, is then moved longitudinally along the interior of the tube 68. The outer diameter of the sealing pin 82 is smaller than the outer diameter of the tube 68 but greater than the inner diameter thereof, so that the sealing pin 82, during its movement along the tube 68, in the interior thereof, displaces the material which is in a plastic condition at the region of the inner surface of tube 68 away from the latter and across the'tube so as to close the latter and form the first sealing portion 50.

Then the sealing pin 82 is removed and a second preheating pin 84 (FIG. 8) is inserted into the interior of the tube 68, this pin 84 also being at an elevated temperature.The pre-heating pin 84 has a diameter greater than that of the pre-heating pin 76. However, the diam- .eter of the second pre-heating pin 84 is smaller than the diameter of the opening 86 which has been formed in the tube 68 by the sealing pin 82. Therefore, by maintaining the pre-heating pin 84 in a position where its axis coincides with that of the body 66, the exterior surface of the pre-heating pin 84 will be spaced from the inner surface of tube 68 and the latter will receive heat which radiates from the pre-heating pin 84, so that the initial pre-heating of the tube 68 at the region of its inner surface outwardly of the first sealing portion 50 is provided in this way.

The pro-heating pin 84 is then removed and a second heating pin 88 (FIG. 9) is introduced into the opening 86. This second heating pin 88 has a diameter larger than that of the first heating pin 80, and the diameter of the second pin 88 equals that of the opening 86. This second heating pin 88 is at an elevated temperature and is introduced into the opening 86 so as to directly engage the inner surface of the tube 68 outwardly of the first sealing portion 50, and in this way the material of the tube 68 at the region of its inner surface is additionally heated by the heating pin 88 so as to become plastic.

Then the second heating pin 88 is removed and a second sealing pin 90, which is not heated, is introduced into the opening 86 (FIG. 10). The outer diameter of the second sealing pin 90 is less than the outer diameter of the tube 68 but greater than the inner diameter at the opening 86 thereof, so that this second sealing pin 90 will displace additional material which is in a plastic condition from the region of the inner surface of the tube 68 outwardly of the first sealing portion '50 into engagement with the latter so as to form the second sealing portion 52. Because the second sealing portion 52 is in a plastic condition and because these operations take place rapidly one after the other, the first sealing portion 50 is also still in a somewhat plastic condition. As a result, the second sealing portion 52 becomes directly bonded to and fuses with the first sealing portion 50, while at the same time the second sealing portion 52 has the structure of an outer plug plugging the tube 68 while being bonded to the first sealing portion 50 along a bonding area extending transversely across tube 68. If a cut is taken through the material of the body 20 in a plane in which the sectional views of FIGS. and 11 are taken, the second sealing portion 52 is clearly visible and distinct from the first sealin portion 50 while at the same time being bonded thereto.

Upon completion of these operations, a suitable trimming cutter 92 trims away an excess portion 94 of the tube 68, and in this way the structure shown in FIG. 11 is provided in accordance with the invention. This structure of course conforms to the structure shown in FIG. 1. As was indicated above, a third sealing portion can be provided, if desired, and in order to provide such a third sealing portion it is only necessary to repeat the three steps shown first in FIGS. 5-7 and then in FIGS. 8-10, with the third set of the three steps being carried out with pre-heating, heating, and sealing pins which are of a diameter somewhat greater than the diameters of the pins 84, 88, and 90. Of course the diameters of the latter pins are somewhat greater than those of the pins 76, 80 and 82.

In the performance of the method the bodies 66 are arranged in succession on a suitable conveyor which in a stepwise manner carries them to locations beneath the several pins shown in FIGS. 5-10, and these pins are lowered to carry out the operations referred to above. In this way, the method of the invention is carried out rapidly and at a low cost, providing each of the articles of the invention with a sealing means which reliably seals the filling 42 so that it cannot leak from the hollow body 20.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hair-treating device, a body having a hollow interior and a wall through which heat is transferred, said body being made of a material which is capable of withstanding boiling water, an exothermic filling situated within said hollow interior of said body and being solid at room temperature, said filling having a melting temperature below that of boiling water, and sealing means carried by said wall of said body for sealing the hollow interior thereof to prevent leakage of said exothermic filling, said sealing means including at least a pair of sealing portions bonded to each other with one of said sealing portions situated closer to the hollow interior of said body than the other of said sealing portions between the hollow interior of said body and said other sealing portion so that the latter sealing portion will continue to seal said hollow interior if said one sealing portion should fail.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said pair of sealing portions are made of the same material as said wall of said body.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said pair of sealing portions are integral with said wall of said body.

4. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said body is made of a thermoplastic material.

5. The combination of claim 4 and wherein said body is of substantially cylindrical configuration and has a pair of opposed ends one of which forms said wall where said sealing means is located.

6. The combination of claim 5 and wherein said pair of sealing portions are located along a straight line coinciding with the axis of said cylindrical body.

7. The combination of claim 6 and wherein said wall of said body has a tubular portion of relatively short length integral with said wall, said one sealing portion being integral with said wall and extending across said tubular portion and said other sealing portion having the configuration of a plug plugging said tubular portion and bonded to said one sealing portion at a bonding area which extends transversely across said tubular portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,076,521 4/1937 List 132-33 3,103,934 9/1963 Sabourin 132--33 3,228,403 1/1966 Pasternack 13236.2 3,358,062 12/1967 Lemelson 26496 F. BARRY SHAW, Primary Examiner GREGORY E. McNEILL, Assistant Examiner 

